Spindle driving mechanism

ABSTRACT

A two spindle driving mechanism comprising two closely separated co-planar driving and support wheels, of which one at least is power driven, and with which the two spindles are rotatably engaged respectively on opposite sides of a plane containing the wheel axes, and two magnets each having a pole piece shaped and located so as to attract a respective one of said spindles more strongly into contact with the wheel by which it is supported than the wheel by which it is driven.

United States Patent [1 1 Paget SPINDLE DRIVING MECHANISM [75] Inventor: Arthur Averil Paget, Harrogate,

England [73 Assignee: I Scriven & Paget Limited, London,

England [22] Filed: Dec. 7, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 95,774

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 8, 1969 Great Britain 59,866/69 [52] US. Cl. 57/7745 [51] Int. Cl. D0lh 7/92, D02g H06 [58] Field of Search..57/77.377.45, 157 TS, 34 HS [56 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,058,289 10/1962 Raschle 57/77.45 X

[ July 24, 1973 3,142,953 8/1964 Gassner et a1. 57/77.45 3,296,789 1/1967 Scragg et al. 57/77.45 3,348,370 10/1967 Gassner 57/77.45 3,530,659 9/1970 Parker 57/7745 X Primary Examiner-John Petrakes AttorneyFidelman, Wolff & Leitner [57] ABSTRACT A two spindle driving mechanism comprising two closely separated co-planar driving and support wheels, of which one at least is power driven, and with which the two spindles are rotatably engaged respectively on opposite sides of a plane containing the wheel axes, and two magnets each having a pole piece shaped and located so as to attract a respective one of said spindles more strongly into contact with the wheel by which it is supported than the wheel by which it is driven.

7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTED JUL 24 ms SHEET 1 [IF 2 FIGI.

Inventor. ARTHUR AVERIL PAGET PATENIEU JUL24 I975 SHEET 2 [IF 2 Inventor ARTHUR AVERIL PAGET SPINDLE DRIVING MECHANISM This invention relates to apparatus for driving and supporting two spindles where the spindles are required to be capable of being rotated at high speeds of the order of 600,000 revolutions per minute, and particularly but not exclusively intended to be incorporated in textile false twist yarn processing machines for use in twisting yarns.

The main object of the present invention in its main context is to provide improved support, and stability for two spindles being rotated between two wheels, and by reducing the degree of slip between them providing lower frictional loads and achieving higher rotational speeds than hitherto achieved with an apparatus employing two wheels simultaneously rotating two spindles.

Disadvantages are inherent in previously proposed arrangements in which the two spindles are simultaneously supported and rotated between two rotating wheels and wherein the spindles are drawn by magnetic means between the two wheels so that the spindles are brought with equally divided pressure into contact with the peripheral surface of both wheels one of which is a driving wheel and the other an idler wheel. The spindle on one side of the centre line which bisects the rotational axes of the two wheels is driven or precessed into the bight or wedge between the two wheels by the rotational direction of the driving wheel and due to the inertia of the idling wheel this results in high loads on the bearings and an accelerated wear on the frictional surfaces of the driving and driven wheels. Due to the inertia and slip of the idler wheel and the resulting different speeds of the respective wheels the rotating spindle on the other side of the above-mentioned centre line which bisects the rotational axes of the two wheels tends to be precessed out of driving engagement by the rotational direction of the driving roller and becomes unstable.

In accordance with the present invention, a two spindle driving mechanism comprises two closely separated co-planar driving and support wheels, of which one at least is power driven, and with which the twin spindles are rotatably engaged respectively on opposite sides of a plane containing the wheel axes, and two magnets each having a polepiece shaped and located so as to attract a respective one of said spindles more strongly into contact with the wheel by which it is supported than the wheel by which it is driven.

Thereby the tendency of each spindle to be moved tangentially away from the nip by the action of its support wheel is counteracted.

The wheels may be mounted so that their separation can be adjusted and thereby facilitate the support and drawing of alternative pairs of spindles of the same or different diameters to be rotated at different speeds or relative speeds.

The mechanism may have two wheels mounted upon freely rotatable shafts within bearings secured to a baseplate. The wheels may be surmounted by a pair of horseshoe magnets fitted with pole pieces for the purpose of attracting the two spindles to the driving surface of the two rollers. The opposite ends of the shafts may have pulleys or cylindrical sleeves either of which, or both simultaneously, can be brought into driving engagement with a belt or belts moving transversely of the axis of the shafts for the purpose of rotating the wheels and hence the spindles.

The mechanism may have wheels faced with a frictional driving surface of a tough synthetic rubber-like material into which is formed a groove or channel extending around the circumference'for the purpose of restraining the spindle from excessive endwise movement, the spindle approximately midway along its length having a collar or annular projection for this purpose.

Alternatively the wheels need not be formed with such a groove, the latter being unnecessary when the spindles have flanged ends.

Normally false twist spindles are tubular, each having a crosspin of extremely hard material such as sapphire secured transversely of its bore and having a slot or hole substantially at to the crosspin to give access to the crosspin about which the yarn is wrapped. The bore at the other end of the spindle may have a slight taper to facilitate running of the yarn, the spindle being a component of a false twist device in a false twist yarn texturising machine. The spindle would be made of a magnetic material. Approximately midway along its length each spindle may have a collar or annular projection with chamfered walls for the purpose of locating it in the peripheral groove or channel around the rollers to restrain the spindle from excessive endwise movement.

Each spindle may have two crosspins of extremely hard material secured across the bore at positions approximately one third of the distance from each end along the length of the spindle.

A plurality of mechanisms as above defined can be employed in a machine provided with an arrangement for feeding the yarns to be twisted and an arrangement for heating the yarns before and after they have been twisted, and provided with a final arrangement for rewinding the processed yarns comprising a yarn false twist crimping and texturising machine.

Several mechanisms as above defined may be mounted with their length transversely of a false twisting machine and their width spaced along the length of such a machine.

A plurality of mechanisms may have their lengths mounted lengthwise of a false twisting machine with one or two pulleys drivably in contact with a belt moving transversely of the rotational axis of the drive wheels.

The spindles may be rotatable both in a clockwise and an anti-clockwise direction according to the manner in which the drive pulleys are presented to the direction of the moving belt.

There may also be an electrical stepping motor incorporated within the apparatus to rotate the roller shaft instead of presenting a pulley to the transmission belt, and wherein the stepping motor is synchronously pulsed by a separate pulsing device.

If the two spindles are interdependent a slave or dummy spindle can be employed when only one active spindle is required. The dummy spindle may be either solid or tubular.

There may be a guard on either side of the two rollers for the protection of the spindle and an operators hands against the revolving rollers when threading adjacent spindles.

One particular and at present preferred embodiment of the mechanism according to the invention, as intended to be embodied in a false twist yarn crimping machine will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view showing the rotational arrangement of the drive showing the interdependence of the two spindles and rollers in effecting a uniform drive;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic plan view on an enlarged scale showing the magnetic pole piece arrangements attracting the respective spindles predominently to their relative drive rollers;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the same mechanism shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an end elevation of the mechanism shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 shows an alternative method of restraining the spindles;

FIG. 6 is an end elevation with adjusted eccentric sleeves.

Referring now to FIG. 1 there is shown a pair of closely seperated co-planar driving wheels 1 and 2 which have parallel rotational axes and with which there is rotatably engaged a pair of false twist spindles 3, 4 respectively situated on opposite sides of a plane containing the axes of the wheels 1, 2. The wheels 1, 2 are intended each to rotate anti-clockwise as indicated by the arrows. For this purpose either one or both of the wheels may be power driven.

Whatever the power driving arrangements, the spindle 3 is driven by the wheel 1 and supported by the wheel 2 whereas the spindle 4 is driven by the wheel 2 and supported by the wheel 1. When one wheel only is however driven, one of the spindles is effective to drive the other wheel which effectively drives the other spindle.

In the absence of any special expedient the mechanism as thus far described is unsatisfactory at high rotational speeds because of the tendency of the spindles to be moved by their support wheels tangentially out of the nip between the two wheels.

It is thus proposed to apply to the spindle 3 a force in the direction of the arrow 7 such that the spindle 3 is urged more strongly into contact with its support wheel 2 than with its driving wheel 1. This force is provided by the suitably shaped and located pole pieces of a horseshoe magnet 6.

Similarly it is also proposed to apply to the spindle 4 a force in the direction of the arrow 5 such that the spindle 4 is urged more strongly into contact with its support wheel 1 than with its driving wheel 2. This force is provided by the suitably shaped and located pole pieces of a horseshoe magnet 8.

Referring now to FIG. 2 the driving and support wheels 1 and 2 are shown closely adjacent and spaced between two horseshoe magnets 35 and 36 having pole pieces 37 and 38 in order that the spindles 4 and 3 shall be attracted into contact with the rollers predominantly in the directions shown by the arrows 9 and 10, respectively. The opposite lower poles of the magnets and pole pieces (not shown) are of similar configuration.

The magnets and pole pieces opposing each other are of like polarity North to North and South to South respectively.

In FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 there is shown a bracket 21 by which the spindle driving mechanism is attached to the main frame ofa false twist yarn crimping machine (not shown).

Secured to the bracket 21 and mounted in eccentric sleeves 15 (FIGS. 3 and 4) are two shaft bearings 23 each of which supports a freely rotatable shaft 24 which carries at its lower end a pulley or cylindrical sleeve 25. Either pulley 25 may be brought drivably into contact with a moving belt 26 independently or simultaneously so as to be caused to rotate. On the other end of the shafts 24 there are secured the wheels 1, 2 made of metal or synthetic material which is faced with a tough rubber-like synthetic material for frictionally driving and rotating spindles 3, 4. Around the periphery of the wheels there is a groove or channel 29 for the purpose of accommodating an annular projection on the spindle to restrain the latter, against excessive endwise movement.

The spindles 3, 4 are of metal and of tubular form with an annular projection 40 formed or secured at an appropriate median position along its length, the walls of the projection having a slight chamfer. The bore at the lower end is tapered to facilitate the entry of the running yarn and a short distance from the other end there extends a slot 41 to give access to a crosspin or peg made of sapphire or other extremely hard material around which the running yarn to be twisted is wrapped. The crosspin extends across the bore of the spindle a short distance from the end of the spindle and substantially at to the slot. The spindles are normally made of steel. Eccentric sleeves 15 are capable of being rotated to enable the gap between the two wheels 1, 2 to be increased or decreased for the purpose of adjusting the attitude of the spindles in relation to the magnetic gap between the pole pieces and the spindles and for the purpose of accepting and rotating spindles of different diameters and bores. In FIG. 4, the center line 22 of shaft 24 coincides with the center line 16 of eccentric sleeve 15. At the rotation of the eccentric sleeve 15, as shown in FIG. 6, the center line 22 of shaft 24 is displaced from the center line 16 of the regular exterior surface of the eccentric sleeve 15. The shaft bearings 23 each have a flange 13 which bears against the upper surface of the associated eccentric sleeve 15 and is tightened against the bracket 21 by a nut 14 which is tightened against an intervening washer on the underside of the bracket 21.

Two horeshoe magnets 35, 36 are secured to brackets 12 so as to embrace the wheels 1, 2. The horseshoe magnets have pole pieces at their tips which are securely attached by means of adhesive. These pole pieces are suitably shaped to combine and concentrate the magnetic flux to attract the spindles 3, 4 predominantly or more strongly to their respective support wheels, and less strongly into driving contact with their adjacent drive wheels.

FIG. 5 shows a spindle 30 provided with two flanges 31 engageable alternatively with either of the faces of its driving roller 32 so that the spindle is restrained against endwise movement.

A further feature of the above specifically described mechanism which is arranged to provide a uniform drive to the two spindles, is that the two drive and support wheels and the two spindles are interdependent and the driving arrangement requires the presence of two spindles both of which may be false twist spindles or alternatively one spindle may be a dummy or slave and can be either hollow or solid. Two spindles of different diameters to run simultaneously can be accommodated by the adjustment of the eccentric sleeves 15 shown in FIG. 1. These spindles will then run at different rotational speeds.

There are several important advantages inherent in the mechanism according to the present invention the main one of which is the provision of a uniform spindle drive where the movement of the spindles around the periphery of the wheels to which they are predominantly attracted is restrained by the direction of rotation at their adjacent wheels to which they are less predominantly attracted.

In the mechanism of the present invention the false twist spindles are magnetically drawn into contact predominantly with a respective wheel and not directly into the nip between both wheels so that the wedging action of the spindle on account of the reaction when the spindle on one side is precessed into the nip and the spindle on the other side tending to be displaced from drivable engagement is virtually eliminated, the friction and the load is reduced, a more uniform drive is effected, and higher speeds are possible.

The mechanism of the present invention in a modified form, but not illustrated, may be arranged to slide on bars attached to a false twist machine to engage and disengage the driving pulley onto and from the belt. Alternatively the mechanism may be swivelably mounted to enable the pulley to be brought into and out of driving engagement with the transmission belt.

In the mechanism according to the present invention only two driving rollers or wheels are employed to rotate two false twist spindles and the length of the mechanism placed transversely of the machine and the narrow width of each mechanism spaced lengthwise of the machine permits the employment of an increased number of spindles along the length of the machine.

The mechanism of the present invention may have the two drive pulleys of the driving and support wheels spaced lengthwise of the machine with one or both pulleys in drivable contact with a belt moving transversely of the rotational axis of the wheels.

I claim:

1.- A two spindle driving mechanism comprising:

first and second closely separated coplanar wheels, at

least one of. which being adapted to be power driven;

first and second spindles rotatably engaging said wheels respectively on opposite sides of a plane containing said wheels axes; and

first and second magnet means substantially on opposite sides of a plane containing said two spindles axes for attracting, respectively, said first spindle more strongly into contact with said first wheel by which it is supported than with said second wheel by which it is driven and said second spindle more strongly into contact with said second wheel by which it is supported than with said first wheel by which it is driven.

2. A two spindle driving mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein said magnet means each comprises a magnet having pole pieces skewed with respect to said spindle axis plane, so as to create an attraction to its corresponding spindle skewed with respect to said spindle axis plane.

3. A two spindle driving mechanism as claimed in claim 2 in which said magnets are of horseshoe shape with like poles of said two magnets adjacent each other.

4. A two spindle driving mechanism as claimed in claim 1 including means for adjusting said separation between said two wheels.

5. A two spindle driving mechanism as in claim 4 wherein said wheels are mounted on drive shafts, and wherein said adjustment means comprises an eccentric sleeve containing bearings and surrounding said drive shaft whereby adjustable rotation of said eccentric sleeve changes said separation between said two wheels.

6. A two spindle driving mechanism as in claim 1:

wherein said wheels are mounted on shafts; and

including drive means comprising at least one driving belt engaging said shafts for driving at least one of said shafts.

7. A two spindle driving mechanism as in claim 1 wherein:

said spindles include a collar; and

said wheels include a circumferential channel adapted to receive said collar and restrain said spindles from excessive axial movement. 

1. A two spindle driving mechanism comprising: first and second closely separated coplanar wheels, at least one of which being adapted to be power driven; first and second spindles rotatably engaging said wheels respectively on opposite sides of a plane containing said wheels'' axes; and first and second magnet means substantially on opposite sides of a plane containing said two spindles'' axes for attracting, respectively, said first spindle more strongly into contact with said first wheel by which it is supported than with said second wheel by which it is driven and said second spindle more strongly into contact with said second wheel by which it is supported than with said first wheel by which it is driven.
 2. A two spindle driving mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein said magnet means each comprises a magnet having pole pieces skewed with respect to said spindle axis plane, so as to create an attraction to it'' s corresponding spindle skewed with respect to said spindle axis plane.
 3. A two spindle driving mechanism as claimed in claim 2 in which said magnets are of horseshoe shape with like poles of said two magnets adjacent each other.
 4. A two spindle driving mechanism as claimed in claim 1 including means for adjusting said separation between said two wheels.
 5. A two spindle driving mechanism as in claim 4 wherein said wheels are mounted on drive shafts, and wherein said adjustment means comprises an eccentric sleeve containing bearings and surrounding said drive shaft whereby adjustable rotation of said eccentric sleeve changes said separation between said two wheels.
 6. A two spindle driving mechanism as in claim 1: wherein said wheels are mounted on shafts; and including drive means comprising at least one driving belt engaging said shafts for driving at least one of said shafts.
 7. A two spindle driving mechanism as in claim 1 wherein: said spindles include a collar; and said wheels include a circumferential channel adapted to receive said collar and restrain said spindles from excessive axial movement. 